Full Transcript for REPAIR

00:04:19.829 there's power in learning how to bring it back. 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:22.550 We're starting the episode with Holly Logan, 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:24.990 co -founder of the Philly Fixers Guild, a volunteer 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.250 -driven group that's been keeping community repair 00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:30.569 alive in Philadelphia. The guild creates spaces 00:04:30.569 --> 00:04:32.649 where people sit down together to troubleshoot 00:04:32.649 --> 00:04:34.970 everything from small electronics to household 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:38.370 items, and in the process, learn the skills and 00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:41.750 confidence to repair things themselves. Holly 00:04:41.750 --> 00:04:44.350 brings the community perspective on repair. The 00:04:44.350 --> 00:04:46.670 belief that everyone can learn to fix what they 00:04:46.670 --> 00:04:49.329 own and that repair is as much about connection 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:52.069 and empowerment as it is about the object on 00:04:52.069 --> 00:04:55.589 the table. My name is Holly Logan. I'm one of 00:04:55.589 --> 00:04:59.720 the founders of the Lay Fixers Guild. Family 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:03.759 Fixers Guild is a loose organization of volunteers 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:08.019 who come together for currently monthly repair 00:05:08.019 --> 00:05:10.540 fairs. Historically, they were only a few times 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:13.360 a year, but now we have them every month with 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:14.860 our great partner at NextFab because they're 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:18.220 able to host us and sporadically in other spaces 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:21.529 too throughout the community. So the organization, 00:05:21.569 --> 00:05:23.670 and I use that term loosely too because it's 00:05:23.670 --> 00:05:26.410 a group of people who volunteer their time to 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:30.129 meet with our guests to bring in items that need 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:32.889 to be repaired and they work together to try 00:05:32.889 --> 00:05:35.569 to repair it. Sometimes that works out and sometimes 00:05:35.569 --> 00:05:38.970 it doesn't. But the idea is that the fixer has 00:05:38.970 --> 00:05:44.870 this skill or talent or a can -duative -ness 00:05:44.870 --> 00:05:47.329 attitude sort of and like are willing to sort 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:50.569 of tinker and explore. and work with the guests 00:05:50.569 --> 00:05:52.610 to try to figure out what that might look like. 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:54.509 And that really depends on each of the items 00:05:54.509 --> 00:05:58.050 that are brought in. So sometimes the fixer has 00:05:58.050 --> 00:06:00.689 a professional skill, like as if they've been 00:06:00.689 --> 00:06:04.870 doing it as a job for years or they're educated 00:06:04.870 --> 00:06:07.110 in that space. Like for example, mechanical engineering 00:06:07.110 --> 00:06:09.709 tends to come up a little bit, but not necessarily. 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:12.990 Some people just have a natural

inclination toward 00:06:12.990 --> 00:06:16.329 a particular type of repair. So variety of fixers 00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:18.509 have their skills, their talents, their will. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:21.279 to share with guests and impart some wisdom on 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:27.759 these repairs. 15 years ago now, Ben and I were 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:30.980 on the small neighborhood advisory group that 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:33.699 was housed within the new Kensington Community 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:35.819 Development Corporation. It was called Sustainable 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:39.620 19125, the zip code that covers a lot of neighborhoods 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:44.550 that we both live in. And trying to come up with 00:06:44.550 --> 00:06:46.730 different initiatives for our neighbors and trying 00:06:46.730 --> 00:06:48.790 to educate neighbors and get conversations with 00:06:48.790 --> 00:06:52.490 neighbors about a variety of sustainability initiatives, 00:06:53.410 --> 00:06:58.990 maybe the stormwater management and tree plantings 00:06:58.990 --> 00:07:01.370 and getting involved with other groups to try 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:03.589 to get more knowledge spread out to other groups. 00:07:04.230 --> 00:07:09.319 So things also like. uh oh my gosh. Water conservation 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.319 in general like that's along the lines of yes 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.579 stormwater management um yeah even down to the 00:07:14.579 --> 00:07:17.100 like here's like some led light bulbs and why 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.240 these are more valuable and so like going more 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:21.540 door to door and trying and i say valuable morning 00:07:21.540 --> 00:07:24.759 like um economically but also like environmentally 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:26.819 potentially and so a lot of information sharing 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:28.759 so anyway so we were sitting we've been on that 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:31.579 committee together or advisory group i guess 00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:35.470 um and sort of like green block captains, if 00:07:35.470 --> 00:07:37.209 you will, I guess is sort of the connotation 00:07:37.209 --> 00:07:40.470 that was shared a lot at the time. And then we 00:07:40.470 --> 00:07:43.350 saw different needs that evolved and different 00:07:43.350 --> 00:07:45.470 passions within the advisory committee where 00:07:45.470 --> 00:07:49.009 we wanted to like emphasize more efforts. And 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:51.029 so Ben and I peeled off a little bit and also 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:53.810 the advisory committee sort of. I don't want 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:56.629 to say dissolved, but it had wrapped up. It finished 00:07:56.629 --> 00:08:00.449 its time with the organization, with NKCDC and 00:08:00.449 --> 00:08:04.089 other focus areas. Then I peeled off. Other people 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:07.050 did find efforts with their own passions too 00:08:07.050 --> 00:08:10.009 and initiatives. From there, yeah, we started 00:08:10.009 --> 00:08:11.829 to find opportunities to connect with different 00:08:11.829 --> 00:08:14.670 neighborhood partners. Our first repair fair, 00:08:14.670 --> 00:08:18.120 I remember. was at what was called the Philly 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:21.459 Sculpture Gym in our neighborhood that you might 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:24.379 remember or some folks might remember. It was 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:26.680 a great partnership with Darla Jackson and just 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:28.899 trying to like test this out and see in the space 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:32.580 and be very malleable and adapt. And so it was 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:35.860 really a good first try. And then so from there 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:38.440 we worked with a variety of community partners 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:44.019 in different spaces. Historically we were thinking 00:08:44.019 --> 00:08:47.139 about mainly having them on weekends and what 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:50.000 partners could host us for free like no costs 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.519 and provide space and tables and all the things 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:55.940 that we need because we're not a brick -and -mortar 00:08:55.940 --> 00:08:58.139 organization. We kind of bring our tools and 00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:00.120 just show up with our skills and our knowledge 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:02.600 and maybe some snacks. That was working great 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:05.679 for about five years and then the pandemic hit. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:13.500 Fall of 2022 We had restarted the repair fairs 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:16.299 and we had NextFab in mind because we thought 00:09:16.299 --> 00:09:19.279 with the amount of space in their facility and 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.220 there's already a built -in mechanism, there's 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:24.580 built -in promotions that are happening via NextFab. 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:27.980 What's great about being in NextFab for our second 00:09:27.980 --> 00:09:30.980 Thursday's Repair Fairs is we might not have 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:33.820 the item to help them repair, but resource exchange 00:09:33.820 --> 00:09:36.120 is open and so we can kind of refer folks to 00:09:36.120 --> 00:09:38.500 hop over there, especially if there's some quirky 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:41.399 little part that might work for some other repair 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:45.620 that's... might fit in and or going to Keystone 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:47.620 bikes that's down the way too that tends to be 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:50.200 open as well at the same time as our repair fairs 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:51.759 or going back another day particularly if the 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.860 bike related thing that can be really helpful. 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:58.639 So right now our repair fairs on the second Thursdays 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:02.179 tend to have about 10 fixers and about 20 guests 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:06.240 per night on any given event. And the same I 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:08.620 would

say for our weekend events too we try to 00:10:08.620 --> 00:10:10.899 have a two -hour window of time wherever we are. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.899 At our events, the goal for fixers is for fixers 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:20.879 and guests to sit together. We're not just a 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.559 repair shop. There's no financial transaction. 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:26.899 This is completely free. So the idea is for the 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:30.779 fixer to involve the guest in the repair, one, 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:36.000 to have that engagement, the peopling, and also 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.639 the sharing of the knowledge from the fixer to 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:45.809 the guest so that the guest is empowered. Remember 00:10:45.809 --> 00:10:49.509 righty tighty? We want to put the screws in so 00:10:49.509 --> 00:10:51.509 we want to tighten them. So you want to twist 00:10:51.509 --> 00:10:54.029 to the right. It is the honor system when it 00:10:54.029 --> 00:10:57.049 comes to the fixers. There is no test. They sign 00:10:57.049 --> 00:10:59.730 up. They show up for the repair fairs because 00:10:59.730 --> 00:11:03.769 they get the email. I've been tinkering around 00:11:03.769 --> 00:11:08.269 with like DIY repair stuff for a while. I like 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:11.450 working with my hands. I certainly like not having 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:15.450 to like pay a bunch extra to replace things and 00:11:15.450 --> 00:11:17.750 also just like on principle I like being able 00:11:17.750 --> 00:11:20.990 to fix stuff rather than throw it away. And when 00:11:20.990 --> 00:11:22.950 I heard about this place and like getting to 00:11:22.950 --> 00:11:25.789 also like having a way to like connect with people 00:11:25.789 --> 00:11:27.909 and like help fix other people's stuff that was 00:11:27.909 --> 00:11:30.029 something that was like really appealing and 00:11:30.029 --> 00:11:33.950 exciting to me. So the idea is yeah to have that 00:11:33.950 --> 00:11:36.350 exchange but fixer to share their knowledge. 00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:40.169 empowerment of the the guest and some you know 00:11:40.169 --> 00:11:43.330 interaction between humans is also really a meaningful 00:11:43.330 --> 00:11:46.570 part of it and sometimes it's like the guests 00:11:46.570 --> 00:11:50.190 are really interested and have a lot of questions 00:11:50.190 --> 00:11:52.350 and the fixer can answer them sometimes it's 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:54.929 really they're exploring together and just sort 00:11:54.929 --> 00:11:57.610 of like figuring it out as they go along they're 00:11:57.610 --> 00:12:01.950 looking up different vocabulary on you know on 00:12:01.950 --> 00:12:03.750 the internet just trying to figure out like okay 00:12:03.750 --> 00:12:05.809 well we're trying to diagnose this together maybe 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:08.370 the fixer has a different vocabulary that the 00:12:08.370 --> 00:12:11.350 guest didn't quite know what to search for that 00:12:11.350 --> 00:12:13.529 needed to be replaced or repaired and that can 00:12:13.529 --> 00:12:21.700 be really helpful. So it looks like what they're 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:24.340 suggesting actually is that if this is like an 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:27.820 overwound mechanism, spinning it in the opposite 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:31.220 direction could help. So if I can grab that maybe 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:38.519 with like a set of pliers. Sometimes the fixer 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:43.529 has a little bit more... leaning towards taking 00:12:43.529 --> 00:12:46.269 a little bit of a risk of exploring the thing 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:48.529 more, which is sometimes what the guest needs 00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:50.889 when they're bringing the thing in so that they 00:12:50.889 --> 00:12:53.210 are hesitant to, you know, open something up 00:12:53.210 --> 00:12:56.509 and or get in there and maybe break it. And so 00:12:56.509 --> 00:12:58.850 that's sort of part of the interaction that they 00:12:58.850 --> 00:13:00.690 have. And so there's a lot of really good conversation. 00:13:00.850 --> 00:13:04.649 And sometimes it comes to a point where the guest 00:13:04.649 --> 00:13:09.179 is relying on the fixer to say, this is no longer 00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:13.559 economically reparable and to have that sort 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:15.440 of, I don't know if relief is the best word, 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:17.580 but it's just having someone with some other 00:13:17.580 --> 00:13:22.240 level of knowledge to say it's okay to recycle 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.279 this or dispose of this in some other way or 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:27.539 upcycle it perhaps. But yeah, for it to not be 00:13:27.539 --> 00:13:29.879 able to be fixed is like to hear that sometimes 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:34.059 that's helpful. And then I think that it has 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:37.620 the best impact. for the guests to understand 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:40.179 why it's so important to like attempt the repair 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:43.179 in the first place too. And to not just, and 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:44.639 I know that's one of the reasons people come 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:46.500 to our events too is they're not, they don't 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:48.399 want to just throw things away. I think some 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.840 people who come to the guests who bring their 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.620 items to our events have some sense of like trying 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:56.600 to preserve it and keep it out of the landfill 00:13:56.600 --> 00:14:00.940 initially if possible. Definitely at every repair 00:14:00.940 --> 00:14:03.159 fair sometimes there's a lull in between the 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:06.179 repairs or a fixer maybe was able to help with 00:14:06.179 --> 00:14:09.259 a guest more quickly than expected and so they 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:12.340 will join in with other fixers and just kind 00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:15.720 of observe and shadow and like offer

advice or 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:17.539 ask questions of the guests to try to get to 00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:21.460 the repair in a more efficient manner or just 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:22.720 because they're curious right because they want 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.200 to learn more themselves too but yeah certainly 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:27.500 definitely our fixers will like lean over and 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:29.740 ask questions or borrowed tools. We have a lot 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:34.259 of that across the different skill sets. So it 00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:36.159 was a very collaborative environment. It's a 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:40.139 very fun space, I think, for a lot of our fixers 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:43.639 to be around together. We saw similar interests 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:46.080 and just being in community with each other. 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:50.370 That space is really cool, too. We've had about 00:14:50.370 --> 00:14:55.789 100 repair fairs in our 11 years, and each repair 00:14:55.789 --> 00:14:59.250 fair we probably have about 20 guests. So each 00:14:59.250 --> 00:15:01.830 guest brings at least one item. Some guests bring 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:05.210 several. Say we probably had about 2 ,000 items 00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:08.269 that our fixers have laid hands on and tried 00:15:08.269 --> 00:15:13.230 to help diagnose or repair in some way. And growing, 00:15:13.490 --> 00:15:20.429 I guess, is the ongoing thing. From what we've 00:15:20.429 --> 00:15:22.610 seen over the years, I would say things that 00:15:22.610 --> 00:15:26.009 were made, I don't know of a specific decade 00:15:26.009 --> 00:15:29.470 per se, but they're definitely a trend anecdotally. 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:33.220 when something is made a long time ago was probably 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:37.259 made and intended to be repaired. So that's anything 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:41.740 from, you know, washing machines to kitchen appliances 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:46.480 to stereo systems that we've seen come through. 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:49.700 Those really solid like even like record players 00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:52.019 like some folks have brought in these like 1930s 00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:54.740 record players over the years or fans just like 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:58.700 desk fans from the 1950s. Just these really solid 00:15:59.449 --> 00:16:01.370 Equipment and machinery and so it just seems 00:16:01.370 --> 00:16:06.309 those are built in such a way For the user and 00:16:06.309 --> 00:16:08.809 or if there was a repair shop at the time right 00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:10.769 when the thing was manufactured for it to be 00:16:10.769 --> 00:16:13.590 repaired But that looks very different these 00:16:13.590 --> 00:16:17.450 days, but yes older items tend to be built in 00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:21.769 a way that they're meant to be repaired Generally 00:16:21.769 --> 00:16:24.190 speaking from what I've learned over the years 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:26.889

being involved with life fixers guild there is 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:31.259 particularly in our capitalist society, a planned 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:35.100 obsolescence. Things are manufactured to not 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:39.389 be repaired because... Generally companies want 00:16:39.389 --> 00:16:41.809 you to have to buy a new thing to replace it 00:16:41.809 --> 00:16:44.529 so they make it fairly cheaply and they make 00:16:44.529 --> 00:16:47.669 it so that it can't be repaired so that it goes 00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:51.129 obsolete and you have to buy a new thing to replace 00:16:51.129 --> 00:16:55.009 it. And so some of that is very real. Sometimes 00:16:55.009 --> 00:17:02.330 they make such unique proprietary shaped screws. 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:05.920 that are unique just to their product, that it 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:10.539 is nearly impossible, although the marketplace 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:13.400 is finding ways to adapt and create new tools 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:17.119 to help people fix their own stuff. But the unique 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.339 screws that are in place sometimes are not able 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:23.859 to be undone by regular individuals, I guess. 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:26.519 Certainly there are a lot of great repair shops 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:28.880 that are available that people can pay to take 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.680 things still to. We do encourage that to happen. 00:17:32.029 --> 00:17:35.049 But for the most part, it seems like a lot of 00:17:35.049 --> 00:17:38.609 the stuff that is made today, maybe even the 00:17:38.609 --> 00:17:42.769 last 20 years, at least, is not meant to be repaired 00:17:42.769 --> 00:17:45.349 for the most part. There are some unique spaces 00:17:45.349 --> 00:17:47.450 where there are things. And sometimes those things 00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:52.119 tend to be a more... hefty financial investment 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:54.799 upfront. So the limitations on who can access 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:57.400 that is real too, because when things are meant 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:00.220 to be economically prepared, those things tend 00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:03.079 to cost some more. But sometimes it's worth that 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:05.099 lifelong investment if one can afford that. So 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:07.519 there is that definitely that accessibility conversation 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:09.960 in items like that. But for the most part, yes, 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.000 I think our capitalist society lends itself to 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:17.130 that planned obsolescence for things to be. tossed 00:18:17.130 --> 00:18:20.089 in the landfill and bought a new thing to replace 00:18:20.089 --> 00:18:30.930 it. Throughout the years I would say a common 00:18:30.930 --> 00:18:35.089 item that's brought to our repair fairs lamps 00:18:35.089 --> 00:18:37.829 are like some of the most common and I would 00:18:37.829 --> 00:18:39.529 say that's throughout the year but certainly 00:18:39.529 --> 00:18:42.250 then we have like seasonal items like air conditioners 00:18:42.250 --> 00:18:45.250 we tend to see and fans. and this when it starts 00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:47.549 to get warm and then when it starts to get cold 00:18:47.549 --> 00:18:50.690 we start to see a lot of space heaters um so 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:54.069 that's like uh perennial throughout the year 00:18:54.069 --> 00:18:55.809 i would say like we know that that's happening 00:18:55.809 --> 00:18:59.150 um and then those are the most common I would 00:18:59.150 --> 00:19:01.970 say. Otherwise yeah like it's other generally 00:19:01.970 --> 00:19:07.150 home kitchen appliances. So mixers like countertop 00:19:07.150 --> 00:19:09.450 mixers are really common which is great because 00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:11.730 it's like those are sturdy and you know people 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:15.009 want to put some time and love into them. Yeah 00:19:15.009 --> 00:19:17.250 I would say generally broadly speaking the category 00:19:17.250 --> 00:19:19.809 of kitchen appliances tends to be the most common. 00:19:25.289 --> 00:19:27.430 It's quite a variety. We've seen a lot of really 00:19:27.430 --> 00:19:29.630 interesting things over the years. Sometimes 00:19:29.630 --> 00:19:34.369 there are definitely trends of And I say this 00:19:34.369 --> 00:19:36.990 lovingly, like dumpster divers, people who are 00:19:36.990 --> 00:19:39.190 really curious and interested in different kinds 00:19:39.190 --> 00:19:42.990 of like art and or functional things. And because 00:19:42.990 --> 00:19:45.890 of that, that the sort of wastefulness that can 00:19:45.890 --> 00:19:49.589 happen in our society, they can find some really 00:19:49.589 --> 00:19:52.549 interesting hidden gems in there. And so some 00:19:52.549 --> 00:19:55.190 of the things that they're bringing to us, they're 00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:57.230 working on together and maybe repairing it. And 00:19:57.230 --> 00:19:59.529 so sometimes that looks like lamps, certainly, 00:19:59.670 --> 00:20:03.440 and other practical things. looks like taxidermied 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.279 cats, which is really strange. Oh, that was an 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.180 odd one, and I will forever... be indelible in 00:20:10.180 --> 00:20:12.920 my memory, because that is highly unusual. And 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:14.819 I'm not saying that to encourage other people 00:20:14.819 --> 00:20:17.480 to bring that type of stuff. I'm saying some 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:21.099 of the range of things that we've seen. So yeah, 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:23.160 it's really, it's really always never a dull 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:27.619 moment of repair. So folks can't make it to our 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:30.380 repair fairs. We do have, I mean, people can 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:33.420 certainly email our central email and we have 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:36.839 a couple of us answer those and try to offer 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:39.660 some

YouTube links and things like that. But 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:42.740 we also, I believe it's on our website, but definitely 00:20:42.740 --> 00:20:45.440 at our repair fairs, we have a whole list of 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:47.559 alternative locations that people can bring things 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:49.900 to get repaired. So maybe it's like a shoe repair, 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:53.019 definitely the phone, the smartphone repair or 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:55.859 tablet repair spaces. It's a whole list of other 00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:58.220 locations that you can pay someone, a professional 00:20:58.220 --> 00:21:00.140 to repair something because when those places 00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:03.099 still exist, we want those to be supported. um 00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:06.779 and maybe for more to grow uh and then yeah so 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:09.779 the online on our website um like people can 00:21:09.779 --> 00:21:12.440 get the list in person and then email us definitely 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:14.819 to try to get some recommendations on maybe where 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:18.579 to go um or you know dm us on instagram is fine 00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:20.460 too but yeah we definitely like to refer folks 00:21:20.460 --> 00:21:23.359 to other resources where possible um those are 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:27.019 the main things places that i can think of including 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:29.140 also west philly tool library which i'd like 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:30.880 to give a quick shout out because they they were 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.069 early um uh partners in different ways and just 00:21:34.069 --> 00:21:37.589 like the sort of uh simpatico like alignment 00:21:37.589 --> 00:21:39.829 of like the interest of people being able to 00:21:39.829 --> 00:21:43.589 borrow tools to do their own things is so empowering 00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:46.250 too so like a library with books they have a 00:21:46.250 --> 00:21:49.789 library of tools and that people can become members 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:52.190 for i believe there are different scale of prices 00:21:52.190 --> 00:21:54.509 that you can become a member and check out tools 00:21:54.509 --> 00:21:56.630 and then return them because living in a city 00:21:56.630 --> 00:21:58.970 we don't all have a lot of space like you know 00:21:59.069 --> 00:22:01.829 suburban spaces might fill a garage like we only 00:22:01.829 --> 00:22:04.289 have so much and so it's also so there's an idea 00:22:04.289 --> 00:22:07.730 of limiting that and also you know being in a 00:22:07.730 --> 00:22:09.089 different kind of community with other people 00:22:09.089 --> 00:22:11.289 where you're borrowing these tools and there's 00:22:11.289 --> 00:22:12.990 a there's accountability where you're maintaining 00:22:12.990 --> 00:22:15.609 them together and so they have a staff of folks 00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:17.890 who do maintain the tools keep things organized 00:22:17.890 --> 00:22:22.119 like any good library. Um, so they, uh, I forget 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.200 where they've moved to out in West Philly. I 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.480 believe it's sort of Southwest Philly -ish now. 00:22:27.059 --> 00:22:30.380 Um, but people can also participate. They have 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:32.460 a variety of great workshops, including they, 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:34.380 they started to do, I think, their own repair 00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:36.759 fair events, which I hope that those get more 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:38.920 successful because we love. the idea to spread 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:41.279 to different communities because we do, yeah, 00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:43.759 focus a lot of our events in the River Ward's 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:47.619 19125, 19134 spaces because this is where we 00:22:47.619 --> 00:22:51.460 live. And so, yeah, so the West Philly Tool Library 00:22:51.460 --> 00:22:53.900 is a great group of people doing great work and 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:57.079 we try to let people know that, you know, limited 00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:59.539 space, like check those out and we would love 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:01.960 it if another tool library grows in the city, 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:04.599 right, because we're so big, maybe in the River 00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:09.309 Ward someday, but yeah. We get invited to be 00:23:09.309 --> 00:23:11.849 in a lot of different spaces throughout the whole 00:23:11.849 --> 00:23:16.390 region and so we love to help where we can and 00:23:16.390 --> 00:23:19.069 also we love our community and so we really emphasize 00:23:19.069 --> 00:23:21.609 our efforts here. But I do know that there are 00:23:21.609 --> 00:23:26.670 a variety of organizations and perhaps city officials. 00:23:27.130 --> 00:23:31.029 that if they're interested, we love to lend our 00:23:31.029 --> 00:23:32.769 knowledge that we've developed over the years 00:23:32.769 --> 00:23:36.269 and share with other community groups in potentially 00:23:36.269 --> 00:23:41.109 expanding this idea of what repair fairs can 00:23:41.109 --> 00:23:44.730 look like. There's an international movement 00:23:44.730 --> 00:23:47.250 essentially behind this called Repair Cafes. 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:52.160 There's a lot of availability of like toolkits 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:54.140 online for how to get an organization like this 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:57.480 started. It may seem like really, it may seem 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:00.779 like very intimidating perhaps to get this sort 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:04.200 of thing going. But I think we have learned so 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:06.319 much and we love to share it with other people. 00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:08.640 So if anyone is interested in learning how to 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:10.339 start one of these in their own communities, 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:13.259 we would love to have a conversation, whether 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:16.569 it's a phone call or. visit, whatever, we want 00:24:16.569 --> 00:24:19.769 to keep

this growing. And if anyone from the 00:24:19.769 --> 00:24:21.829 city is listening, we're also happy to get that 00:24:21.829 --> 00:24:23.930 connected in more official ways, if possible, 00:24:23.990 --> 00:24:27.470 to help this grow because it's a really meaningful 00:24:27.470 --> 00:24:35.289 part of sustainability. I love that. So many 00:24:35.289 --> 00:24:37.029 of the sustainable businesses that I've spoken 00:24:37.029 --> 00:24:40.789 to are like, if you want to do this I figured 00:24:40.789 --> 00:24:43.509 it out like let me share my knowledge and you 00:24:43.509 --> 00:24:48.369 can copy it yeah it's how it works like the community 00:24:48.369 --> 00:24:50.950 building it's like we share our the knowledge 00:24:50.950 --> 00:24:54.049 that we've gained that's how we started right 00:24:54.049 --> 00:24:56.450 and we like made our own missteps along the way 00:24:56.450 --> 00:24:59.089 and and and also figured out what works best 00:24:59.089 --> 00:25:02.410 for our group and then you know sharing that 00:25:02.410 --> 00:25:12.710 with others is what we love to do so Okay, should 00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:15.329 we try it? All right, let's close it. Let's lock 00:25:15.329 --> 00:25:19.730 it up. All right. Most important part, we got 00:25:19.730 --> 00:25:24.769 to put the key on. There we go. I'm gonna stick 00:25:24.769 --> 00:25:26.950 that on just a little bit and then I'll let you 00:25:26.950 --> 00:25:28.789 twist it the rest of the way. Okay, let's try 00:25:28.789 --> 00:25:41.289 it now. Hold on. Oh, wonderful. You happy? I 00:25:41.289 --> 00:25:44.190 think that it's just a little bit soggy. Let's 00:25:44.190 --> 00:25:47.529 not touch it, okay? Let it spin around. Yeah. 00:25:47.650 --> 00:25:50.230 But when I touch it, it helps. Oh, you think 00:25:50.230 --> 00:25:54.750 you're healthy. Tuesday, thank you. Thank you. 00:25:55.089 --> 00:25:57.170 Yeah, of course. Thank you for fixing this. Yeah, 00:25:57.190 --> 00:26:03.369 happy to help. That was the Philly Fixers Guild 00:26:03.369 --> 00:26:05.829 founded by Holly Logan and Ben Davis at their 00:26:05.829 --> 00:26:08.730 monthly repair fair. You can find out more about 00:26:08.730 --> 00:26:11.349 upcoming repair fairs and their other resources 00:26:11.349 --> 00:26:17.049 on their website, phillyfixersguild .org. While 00:26:17.049 --> 00:26:20.069 repair is in many ways a legacy craft and industry, 00:26:20.390 --> 00:26:22.730 it's being reinvented for the modern era, like 00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:25.970 so many other circular practices. Today's repair 00:26:25.970 --> 00:26:29.369 economy isn't just cobblers and tailors, it's 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:33.009 entrepreneurs. designers and technologists building 00:26:33.009 --> 00:26:36.150 new models that make repair accessible, stylish 00:26:36.150 --> 00:26:39.170 and part of everyday life again. One of those 00:26:39.170 --> 00:26:41.789 innovators is Emily Watts, founder of Cobbler. 00:26:42.349 -->

00:26:44.730 She's part of a new way of repair leaders blending 00:26:44.730 --> 00:26:47.430 craftsmanship with modern convenience, showing 00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:50.289 that repair isn't a relic of the past, but a 00:26:50.289 --> 00:26:52.250 future forward industry with the potential to 00:26:52.250 --> 00:26:55.470 create jobs, reduce waste and reconnect people 00:26:55.470 --> 00:27:05.160 with the things they own. So I'm Emily Watts, 00:27:05.319 --> 00:27:13.380 the CEO and founder of Cobbler. So Cobbler is 00:27:13.380 --> 00:27:15.859 a digital infrastructure that is powering the 00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:20.940 repair economy. So we enable local repair artisans, 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:23.839 local repair providers across the U .S. and Canada. 00:27:24.569 --> 00:27:27.390 with software basically to run their business 00:27:27.390 --> 00:27:30.349 more efficiently because there's no software 00:27:30.349 --> 00:27:33.369 out there specifically built for repair businesses. 00:27:33.750 --> 00:27:38.309 And then we also enable brands to basically have 00:27:38.309 --> 00:27:41.430 a digitized repair program so that's easy for 00:27:41.430 --> 00:27:44.109 their customers to do repair. And then we connect 00:27:44.109 --> 00:27:47.630 the two. So if brands want to have a repair program, 00:27:48.009 --> 00:27:50.769 we basically give them access to our nationwide 00:27:50.769 --> 00:27:54.230 network of repair providers. If they have an 00:27:54.230 --> 00:27:56.470 in -house team, we also can power that. So, like, 00:27:56.529 --> 00:27:58.650 Red Wing has an in -house repair team, a lot 00:27:58.650 --> 00:28:03.630 of, you know, heritage brands do. And in many 00:28:03.630 --> 00:28:11.390 cases, they're run on pen and paper. I've repaired 00:28:11.390 --> 00:28:15.349 things my whole life and shop secondhand in a 00:28:15.349 --> 00:28:18.990 time where, like... You know, you can do drop 00:28:18.990 --> 00:28:21.970 off and pick up for laundry or just so many like 00:28:21.970 --> 00:28:23.890 restaurants are running on toast and there's 00:28:23.890 --> 00:28:26.490 so much more. It's just a better like digitized 00:28:26.490 --> 00:28:29.329 customer experience. It was just crazy to me 00:28:29.329 --> 00:28:31.529 that that had not happened in repair and it was 00:28:31.529 --> 00:28:33.690 really frustrating. Like you go, one, it's hard 00:28:33.690 --> 00:28:37.990 to find someone and then once you do, it's kind 00:28:37.990 --> 00:28:41.559 of this black box. You go in. The pricing isn't 00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:45.180 transparent. You get a paper ticket. You get 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:48.059 a kind of general timeframe of when you're supposed 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:53.160 to get it back, which usually doesn't happen. 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:56.720 And so it's just not a great experience. And 00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:01.339 I really wanted to make repair as easy as like 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:06.099 shopping online or going to a place to buy clothing, 00:29:06.140 --> 00:29:09.569 right? And the whole goal there is like, if we 00:29:09.569 --> 00:29:13.990 can make repair easy and accessible and a delightful 00:29:13.990 --> 00:29:17.430 experience, it will become mainstream again, 00:29:17.650 --> 00:29:21.910 right? Because if something's not easy and accessible 00:29:21.910 --> 00:29:23.569 and a great experience, people don't wanna do 00:29:23.569 --> 00:29:30.910 it. And so I started my own mail and repair business 00:29:30.910 --> 00:29:34.670 with a cobbler up in Boston. It was an amazing 00:29:34.670 --> 00:29:36.920 experience because it gave me like, first -hand 00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:40.640 understanding of what do customers want, what 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:43.480 do they know about repair, brands, like what 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:46.339 are their expectations, and then just the day 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:48.019 -to -day of like what it's like to run a repair 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:50.160 business. And from that, that's kind of where 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:53.720 Cobbler was born, which is like, okay, this entire 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:56.779 industry from like the cobblers all the way up 00:29:56.779 --> 00:30:00.559 and tailors and anyone doing fashion repair all 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:02.839 the way up to the brands offering it, it's all 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:06.910 like run on spreadsheets and pen and paper and 00:30:06.910 --> 00:30:10.329 just manual process, which is not great, right? 00:30:10.430 --> 00:30:12.509 And so that's where Cobbler was born. So we're 00:30:12.509 --> 00:30:15.710 really just trying to bring the repair industry 00:30:15.710 --> 00:30:20.250 online. We're starting with fashion repair because 00:30:20.250 --> 00:30:23.009 that's where we see the biggest opportunity. 00:30:24.089 --> 00:30:27.730 But just kind of the way our platform's structured, 00:30:27.809 --> 00:30:30.769 it really can be applied to all different types 00:30:30.769 --> 00:30:35.700 of consumer repair. instrument repair or like 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:40.579 small electronics repair or like sporting goods 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:44.619 that kind of thing. If a brand is offering repair 00:30:44.619 --> 00:30:47.079 you go to the repair section on their website 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:50.500 and it's the directions are basically download 00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:53.859 a PDF fill it out email customer service and 00:30:53.859 --> 00:30:57.960 we'll email you a prepaid label and then they 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:00.750 send it in and then it's like that's it they 00:31:00.750 --> 00:31:02.809 don't know they don't know the status they don't 00:31:02.809 --> 00:31:04.650 know when they're going to get it back it's just 00:31:04.650 --> 00:31:07.829 like kind of like with a lot of repair shops 00:31:07.829 --> 00:31:11.170 it's kind of a black box of information and no 00:31:11.170 --> 00:31:16.130 transparency so cobbler basically digitizes that 00:31:16.130 -->

00:31:19.809 so as a customer you can sign into your account 00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:22.490 you can find your past order history and select 00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:24.289 the item that you want to have repaired from 00:31:24.289 --> 00:31:28.059 that order history And then you upload a couple 00:31:28.059 --> 00:31:31.640 photos, put in kind of like what you think you 00:31:31.640 --> 00:31:35.819 need done, because I'd say 95 % of consumers 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:37.839 don't know what they need done. They just know 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:44.319 it's broken. And then we basically do an auto 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.900 assessment, an auto quote based on those images. 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:51.779 And then they pay. And then they automatically 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:54.980 get a prepaid label. They send things in and 00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:56.819 then we just, we kind of have like a Domino's 00:31:56.819 --> 00:32:00.099 pizza tracker of like the status of their shoes 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:03.359 and the repair, right? So it's like, thank you 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:06.180 for your order, your order shipping. We've received 00:32:06.180 --> 00:32:09.160 your shoes. We started working on your shoes. 00:32:10.279 --> 00:32:12.420 We also have the ability for the repair team 00:32:12.420 --> 00:32:14.799 to add before and after images so the customer 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:17.079 can see kind of like, you know, the progress. 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:19.769 And then when it's done, they get an alert. via 00:32:19.769 --> 00:32:22.369 email and SMS and then it's automatically sent 00:32:22.369 --> 00:32:25.769 back. So it's just like, it's not like that whole 00:32:25.769 --> 00:32:29.210 process isn't like deep tech, but it's just flipping 00:32:29.210 --> 00:32:34.410 the model and making it transparent and a good 00:32:34.410 --> 00:32:37.170 experience basically. I was actually just talking 00:32:37.170 --> 00:32:40.390 to someone yesterday about this Colombian footwear 00:32:40.390 --> 00:32:44.309 brand where it's not repair related, but it's 00:32:44.309 --> 00:32:48.289 made to order and it takes up to six months sometimes. 00:32:48.730 --> 00:32:51.009 And so to keep you engaged as a customer, they 00:32:51.009 --> 00:32:55.009 will kind of give you updates of like, you know, 00:32:55.009 --> 00:32:58.470 we've cut the leather and like this is whoever 00:32:58.470 --> 00:33:01.789 their name is and they're the person that's building 00:33:01.789 --> 00:33:05.250 your shoe. So just to like create that connection 00:33:05.250 --> 00:33:10.910 to the process, I think customers like and or 00:33:10.910 --> 00:33:13.410 if they haven't done it will like to really understand 00:33:13.410 --> 00:33:15.609 like what's going into it and just know like 00:33:15.609 --> 00:33:23.019 when they're going to get their thing back. I've 00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:25.700 been talking to a lot of investors, you know, 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:28.440 when people think of

circular economy, they think, 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:33.859 oh, sustainability, oh, no money. And really, 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:37.119 it's like, I view it as like the next generation 00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:41.400 of our economy, right? Like, whatever, 3 .0 commerce 00:33:41.400 --> 00:33:46.099 or 4 .0, I don't know, like the various .0s, 00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:50.099 but I view it as the future and there's money 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:53.630 to be made while also making things more sustainable 00:33:53.630 --> 00:34:00.670 and more circular. So yeah, I think the, just 00:34:00.670 --> 00:34:04.230 kind of like the automation and efficiency gains 00:34:04.230 --> 00:34:09.070 are really important. And you know, it's, there's 00:34:09.070 --> 00:34:11.750 a lot of like software platforms out there that 00:34:11.750 --> 00:34:15.269 are, they're just software platforms. They're 00:34:15.269 --> 00:34:19.610 not like connecting or enabling like the actual 00:34:19.610 --> 00:34:23.349 like real life. people who are doing work and 00:34:23.349 --> 00:34:26.489 I think that's the disconnect. You know when 00:34:26.489 --> 00:34:29.250 you think of like circularity it's like resale, 00:34:29.550 --> 00:34:33.030 rental, repair, recycling. Everyone's focused 00:34:33.030 --> 00:34:38.550 on rental and resale and you know everyone's 00:34:38.550 --> 00:34:40.369 been obsessed with recycling for a very long 00:34:40.369 --> 00:34:43.550 time. But repair has kind of been like the forgotten 00:34:43.550 --> 00:34:47.389 child and I want to change that. You know, we're 00:34:47.389 --> 00:34:52.489 kind of trying to more focus on the kind of B2B 00:34:52.489 --> 00:34:55.449 to C side, but we still do have a direct -to 00:34:55.449 --> 00:34:58.489 -consumer. So that's cobblershop .com. And so 00:34:58.489 --> 00:35:01.949 you can just go on, submit your request, photos, 00:35:02.050 --> 00:35:04.489 and we'll give you a quote. And once you pay, 00:35:05.030 --> 00:35:07.010 we send you a prepaid label, and then we distribute 00:35:07.010 --> 00:35:11.449 to a cobbler that's nearby. And also, we know 00:35:11.449 --> 00:35:15.820 can do the work. So if it's like, specialty handbags 00:35:15.820 --> 00:35:19.059 or requires a certain, you know, level of detail. 00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:21.099 It might go to one guy who's a little further 00:35:21.099 --> 00:35:26.179 away versus, you know, someone close by. One 00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:28.519 thing that we are building out is the ability 00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:32.000 to kind of that digital to in -person connection 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.519 too, right? So you could also drop it off because 00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:40.699 that's obviously more sustainable. But, you know, 00:35:40.699 --> 00:35:43.260 we have to build out our network to get to that 00:35:43.260 --> 00:35:46.909 point. So we're nationwide. We have a bunch of 00:35:46.909 --> 00:35:48.449 shops in Philly, obviously, because I'm here 00:35:48.449

--> 00:35:52.409 and I just harass them all. I'm just like, hello, 00:35:52.510 --> 00:35:59.789 it's me again. So Benjamin's on the row in jewelry 00:35:59.789 --> 00:36:04.210 row. Really great. Amy's amazing. Very talented. 00:36:04.769 --> 00:36:06.949 And then we got Pilgrim's shoe repair in Drexel 00:36:06.949 --> 00:36:11.510 Hill and Byram's shoe repair out in Malvern. 00:36:12.349 --> 00:36:17.090 Circularity is local. And we did think about 00:36:17.090 --> 00:36:20.989 kind of decentralized models, but that is kind 00:36:20.989 --> 00:36:25.349 of defeats the purpose and makes things decidedly 00:36:25.349 --> 00:36:28.389 less sustainable if you're shipping stuff across 00:36:28.389 --> 00:36:30.670 the country into a centralized warehouse. You're 00:36:30.670 --> 00:36:33.610 not reaping the reward of like lower emissions 00:36:33.610 --> 00:36:36.829 and you're not benefiting a local economy either. 00:36:37.389 --> 00:36:44.610 Maybe one, but not nationwide. You know everyone 00:36:44.610 --> 00:36:47.929 thinks shoe repair shops are dying and you know 00:36:47.929 --> 00:36:50.730 like any small business that's gonna happen but 00:36:50.730 --> 00:36:53.789 what we hear is that they're busier than ever 00:36:53.789 --> 00:36:56.489 and they're getting a lot of young people for 00:36:56.489 --> 00:36:59.929 the first time. So like someone who went to the 00:36:59.929 --> 00:37:04.170 Goodwill and found a pair of shoes and took them 00:37:04.170 --> 00:37:06.829 to Amy or another cobbler like hey I just found 00:37:06.829 --> 00:37:08.949 these like they're kind of beat up like what 00:37:08.949 --> 00:37:11.670 do I do? So it's like their first interaction 00:37:11.670 --> 00:37:14.989 with with repair. which is really promising and 00:37:14.989 --> 00:37:20.510 it's kind of like an exciting signal in terms 00:37:20.510 --> 00:37:31.329 of like the future for repair. It's really interesting 00:37:31.329 --> 00:37:34.190 like yes there's a lot of people sending in like 00:37:34.190 --> 00:37:37.269 luxury goods but a lot of people are like you 00:37:37.269 --> 00:37:41.289 know what I bought these like Talbot shoes or 00:37:41.289 --> 00:37:45.190 Zara heels like five years ago and I just, they 00:37:45.190 --> 00:37:47.889 fit me, they go with everything in my wardrobe 00:37:47.889 --> 00:37:51.550 or I have a memory. Like people invest in things 00:37:51.550 --> 00:37:53.889 that they have a connection to regardless of 00:37:53.889 --> 00:37:59.570 kind of like the quality. The rise of disposability 00:37:59.570 --> 00:38:03.449 and just kind of this consumption culture, it's 00:38:03.449 --> 00:38:06.230 kind of made people move away from repair because 00:38:06.230 --> 00:38:09.670 they just want to buy and buy and it's... kind 00:38:09.670 --> 00:38:11.989 of gotten us to where we are now because fashion 00:38:11.989 --> 00:38:14.230 is like one of the top 10 polluters in the world. 00:38:14.829 --> 00:38:16.610 That's kind of

been the culture for the past 00:38:16.610 --> 00:38:20.829 few decades but we're at this really interesting 00:38:20.829 --> 00:38:24.809 point of change with and a lot of us being driven 00:38:24.809 --> 00:38:27.489 by consumers and kind of like millennials and 00:38:27.489 --> 00:38:32.170 Gen Z where they see through like the marketing 00:38:32.170 --> 00:38:34.889 of brands they know that they're being kind of 00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:38.849 like manipulated right and they know the impact 00:38:38.849 --> 00:38:42.469 of their purchasing behavior and I think a lot 00:38:42.469 --> 00:38:44.610 of consumers don't want to look like everyone 00:38:44.610 --> 00:38:47.469 else anymore right like they don't want to be 00:38:47.469 --> 00:38:50.489 in a barber jacket with like the same rubber 00:38:50.489 --> 00:38:54.269 wellies and whatever it is like copy paste they 00:38:54.269 --> 00:38:56.909 want to look unique and so that's our secondhand 00:38:56.909 --> 00:38:59.659 shopping is like there's a lot of delight there 00:38:59.659 --> 00:39:01.679 because you can find something that no one else 00:39:01.679 --> 00:39:05.599 has, you know, amidst the racks or let's say 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:07.519 you're on the real reel amidst like all your 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:11.920 scrolling, you find something that's like a steal 00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:14.500 and amazing, right? And so that that's why and 00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:17.079 then you've seen like resale, like shopping secondhand 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:19.059 is now, you know, you can do it online or it's 00:39:19.059 --> 00:39:22.820 just a better experience generally. And that's 00:39:22.820 --> 00:39:26.159 caused this huge increase in resale shopping. 00:39:27.139 --> 00:39:30.079 And resale doesn't, it can't scale, it can't 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:31.800 work without repair because you're buying something 00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:33.820 that's used, inevitably you're gonna have to 00:39:33.820 --> 00:39:37.900 repair it. So that's created this like shift 00:39:37.900 --> 00:39:41.539 that we're seeing towards repair. But then also 00:39:41.539 --> 00:39:46.820 like buying quality and buying heritage brands. 00:39:46.880 --> 00:39:49.500 I think that's been a really interesting like 00:39:49.500 --> 00:39:51.840 shift in consumer behavior of like I'm gonna 00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:55.260 buy something that's quality and I'm gonna like 00:39:55.260 --> 00:40:00.070 take care of it. The hardest thing is the price. 00:40:00.670 --> 00:40:03.090 And so, you know, I think that's where secondhand 00:40:03.090 --> 00:40:04.730 is great, right? It's like you bought, you actually 00:40:04.730 --> 00:40:08.269 got like a pretty good deal on something secondhand, 00:40:08.269 --> 00:40:10.429 like just invest 50 bucks or a hundred bucks 00:40:10.429 --> 00:40:13.550 and you can, you know, bring it to almost like 00:40:13.550 --> 00:40:15.750 brand new quality. But there's like an education 00:40:15.750 -->

00:40:18.329 component too, right? Cause like a lot of people 00:40:18.329 --> 00:40:22.230 don't know it exists. Cost of something brand 00:40:22.230 --> 00:40:24.829 new, especially from like a fashion brand is 00:40:24.829 --> 00:40:28.650 going to be cheaper than repairing something, 00:40:28.849 --> 00:40:31.409 at least upfront. But then I always like to think 00:40:31.409 --> 00:40:34.670 of cost per wear. Like if you buy something that's 00:40:34.670 --> 00:40:37.829 from Shine, let's say it's $50, you wear it once 00:40:37.829 --> 00:40:41.789 you throw it away. Or you can buy a really high 00:40:41.789 --> 00:40:45.269 quality cashmere sweater from the RealReal for 00:40:45.269 --> 00:40:48.769 $50. Maybe there's a little hole. but it's like 00:40:48.769 --> 00:40:50.949 really good quality. You get it darned. You get 00:40:50.949 --> 00:40:54.909 that whole patch for 50 to 75 dollars and then 00:40:54.909 --> 00:40:59.090 you wear it like a hundred times. So it's like 00:40:59.090 --> 00:41:03.309 50 divided by a hundred or 50 divided by two, 00:41:03.409 --> 00:41:05.429 right? So the cost for wear is actually ends 00:41:05.429 --> 00:41:08.829 up being cheaper for something that's like quality 00:41:08.829 --> 00:41:11.989 and you repair it but you wear it more. So that's 00:41:11.989 --> 00:41:13.829 like where the education component, right? But 00:41:13.829 --> 00:41:24.260 there's math involved, so that's hard. My favorite 00:41:24.260 --> 00:41:28.179 thing to do on the real real is reversed reverse 00:41:28.179 --> 00:41:31.960 sort by so I go to the like shoes section and 00:41:31.960 --> 00:41:35.920 I sort by cheapest to most expensive and There's 00:41:35.920 --> 00:41:39.699 some amazing Amazing like amazing shoes, and 00:41:39.699 --> 00:41:41.440 I feel like there's an example here somewhere, 00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:45.699 but I got these like amazing Todd's which is 00:41:45.699 --> 00:41:48.840 like an Italian leather or shoe brand and they 00:41:48.840 --> 00:41:51.650 do handbags, too Todd's leather boots that I 00:41:51.650 --> 00:41:54.170 think normally would probably resale like a thousand 00:41:54.170 --> 00:41:59.150 or sell like full MSRP new would be like a thousand. 00:41:59.550 --> 00:42:03.110 I got them for 25 bucks. And they just needed 00:42:03.110 --> 00:42:05.349 like, you know, you could tell they're old because 00:42:05.349 --> 00:42:07.789 like the rubber sole was kind of, it was like 00:42:07.789 --> 00:42:10.829 the glue had started to disintegrate. But that's 00:42:10.829 --> 00:42:13.670 like, you take it to your cobbler, that's like 00:42:13.670 --> 00:42:17.829 a $25 repair, you know, and they're like beautiful. 00:42:18.230 --> 00:42:22.110 leather boots that you can wear forever. So that's 00:42:22.110 --> 00:42:38.969 my hack. So the pandemic really ravaged the industry. 00:42:39.449 --> 00:42:41.269 And a lot of that was because there was no tech, 00:42:41.449 --> 00:42:45.389 right? So a

shop, things were shut down, but 00:42:45.389 --> 00:42:47.849 the shop owner might still be going to work. 00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:50.619 but he has no way to contact his customer base 00:42:50.619 --> 00:42:53.300 because it's not digitized, right? So that was 00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:55.159 kind of the recurring theme from the pandemic 00:42:55.159 --> 00:42:58.059 was like, we were open, but we didn't know how 00:42:58.059 --> 00:43:00.480 to reach out to our customers because it was 00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:05.139 all like, there was no record of it. And so a 00:43:05.139 --> 00:43:10.340 lot of them closed because of that. But the interesting 00:43:10.340 --> 00:43:12.719 phenomenon we're seeing, so of all the shops 00:43:12.719 --> 00:43:16.579 that are using cobbler software, about a fifth 00:43:16.579 --> 00:43:20.400 of them are net new businesses. So we have one 00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:24.619 guy who just opened in Montreal. He was in the 00:43:24.619 --> 00:43:28.599 restaurant industry before. And he decided to 00:43:28.599 --> 00:43:30.980 go into cobbling. He did an apprenticeship with 00:43:30.980 --> 00:43:35.119 a local business. And then when he went out to 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:38.619 start his own shop, that business recommended 00:43:38.619 --> 00:43:41.800 us. And we're seeing that happen across the U 00:43:41.800 --> 00:43:45.989 .S. too, not just Canada. You know they call 00:43:45.989 --> 00:43:48.869 this next generation like the tool belt generation 00:43:48.869 --> 00:43:53.230 And I think you know people are realizing that 00:43:53.230 --> 00:43:55.869 like going and working for a big corporation 00:43:55.869 --> 00:43:59.230 actually isn't like the dream Especially nowadays 00:43:59.230 --> 00:44:01.409 with like all the layoffs and like it's very 00:44:01.409 --> 00:44:06.210 clear Big companies don't really care about you, 00:44:06.230 --> 00:44:07.530 and it's no longer a place where you can have 00:44:07.530 --> 00:44:10.909 like a very stable long career right and so it's 00:44:10.909 --> 00:44:14.730 like the next generation sees that, right? And 00:44:14.730 --> 00:44:17.789 they're like, maybe I'll be an entrepreneur or 00:44:17.789 --> 00:44:22.090 go into the trades. If you look at the U .S. 00:44:22.110 --> 00:44:26.210 and Canada, there's probably a little less than 00:44:26.210 --> 00:44:31.030 100 ,000 repair shops. So, you know, my goal 00:44:31.030 --> 00:44:36.030 in five years is to be in like 3 ,000. I'd like 00:44:36.030 --> 00:44:39.309 for it to be more. And yeah, I mean, my goal 00:44:39.309 --> 00:44:44.909 is just... One, have as many brands as possible 00:44:44.909 --> 00:44:48.349 with our digital repair experience. But then 00:44:48.349 --> 00:44:53.650 also, I would love to add on a D2C capability 00:44:53.650 --> 00:44:56.949 where it's kind of like a more modern Yelp, where 00:44:56.949 --> 00:44:58.570 you could just go in and be like, this is what 00:44:58.570 --> 00:45:01.230 I want repaired, this is my zip code, upload 00:45:01.230 --> 00:45:03.250 some photos, and it will auto match you with 00:45:03.250 --> 00:45:07.429 the best shot possible. So that's another dream 00:45:07.429 --> 00:45:12.170 for the next five years. You know, legislation 00:45:12.170 --> 00:45:16.230 always helps. Like I think there's a few ways 00:45:16.230 --> 00:45:18.489 you can do it. I'm not sure which one is more 00:45:18.489 --> 00:45:22.809 successful and better. But like France, they 00:45:22.809 --> 00:45:27.030 will give individual citizens like money if they 00:45:27.030 --> 00:45:29.750 repair something. So it's like kind of a subsidy. 00:45:31.269 --> 00:45:35.909 And then like I think it's SB 707 in California. 00:45:36.150 --> 00:45:40.579 It's like basically requiring brands over a certain 00:45:40.579 --> 00:45:42.940 amount of revenue a year to have like an end 00:45:42.940 --> 00:45:45.960 -of -life strategy. So then it's more putting 00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:52.219 like the onus on the brand to like get their 00:45:52.219 --> 00:45:55.239 shit together. Putting the onus on the brand 00:45:55.239 --> 00:45:59.360 to be more sustainable and and think through 00:45:59.360 --> 00:46:01.239 kind of like okay you're selling all this stuff 00:46:01.239 --> 00:46:03.400 but then like where is it going and repair is 00:46:03.400 --> 00:46:10.960 part of it. I mean, like the ideal world is like, 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:15.920 and this is like not capitalism, but it's like 00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:23.300 limiting production, right? But, you know, obviously 00:46:23.300 --> 00:46:28.059 that's not gonna happen. Because, you know, shareholders. 00:46:28.340 --> 00:46:30.880 But yeah, I think maybe it's a dual strategy. 00:46:31.500 --> 00:46:35.289 I don't know. I'm not like a... poli -sci legislative 00:46:35.289 --> 00:46:40.730 person, but I think if you incentivize consumers 00:46:40.730 --> 00:46:45.989 and then also brands, then that kind of like 00:46:45.989 --> 00:46:50.130 two -pronged strategy is probably the most effective. 00:46:52.789 --> 00:46:56.829 Every year in the U .S., 300 million pairs of 00:46:56.829 --> 00:46:59.869 shoes are sent to landfill. And a lot of that 00:46:59.869 --> 00:47:03.170 is like sneakers and things that just will take 00:47:03.260 --> 00:47:07.320 a really long time to break down and just all 00:47:07.320 --> 00:47:10.019 the kind of like chemical leaching and microplastics, 00:47:10.219 --> 00:47:14.460 it's horrible for the environment. And so repair 00:47:14.460 --> 00:47:18.739 obviously prevents or limits that pollution. 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:28.199 Since April, we like our network has repaired 00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:34.900 over 10 ,000 shoes. and processed over a million 00:47:34.900 --> 00:47:43.059 dollars of repairs. The exciting thing about 00:47:43.059 --> 00:47:45.199 Cobbler is like we have access, you know, as 00:47:45.199 --> 00:47:49.579 a dashboard, like the anonymized data across

00:47:49.579 --> 00:47:52.920 all these businesses so we can see the turnaround 00:47:52.920 --> 00:47:57.460 time and like their average order value and the 00:47:57.460 --> 00:47:59.400 number of repairs that are happening. And it's 00:47:59.400 --> 00:48:03.369 just like, it's, you know, people think that 00:48:03.369 --> 00:48:05.989 repair businesses are like small and not successful 00:48:05.989 --> 00:48:10.210 and it's really cool to see these like really 00:48:10.210 --> 00:48:13.070 strong businesses that are also growing right 00:48:13.070 --> 00:48:17.050 it's not just like steady state a hundred thousand 00:48:17.050 --> 00:48:19.530 dollars a year it's like hundreds of thousands 00:48:19.530 --> 00:48:25.050 growing year over year so yeah that's the exciting 00:48:25.050 --> 00:48:29.010 thing about smb right is that you have that connection 00:48:29.010 --> 00:48:31.900 with a small business and like that business 00:48:31.900 --> 00:48:42.659 owner and seeing them grow. Sam. So I was at 00:48:42.659 --> 00:48:49.619 a circularity conference in 2024 and she just 00:48:49.619 --> 00:48:53.119 sat down next to me at like lunch and we started 00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:58.280 talking. It's nice to have another female founder. 00:48:59.050 --> 00:49:02.829 also based in Philadelphia, just to like, you 00:49:02.829 --> 00:49:06.789 know, connect with, vent, whatever it is. Because, 00:49:06.869 --> 00:49:08.349 you know, it's like hard when you're going against 00:49:08.349 --> 00:49:12.190 the current. And so when you have other people 00:49:12.190 --> 00:49:15.110 going against the current with you, it's motivating. 00:49:15.809 --> 00:49:18.349 Because we're rebels, you know, we're like trying 00:49:18.349 --> 00:49:23.210 to change things. And like, I think if we were 00:49:23.210 --> 00:49:25.309 in Europe, it would probably be easier, but we're 00:49:25.309 --> 00:49:28.570 kind of... I'd say in the U .S. or maybe where 00:49:28.570 --> 00:49:39.289 Europe was like five, 10 years ago. So I just 00:49:39.289 --> 00:49:42.809 think it's like, it's the future. Repairing your 00:49:42.809 --> 00:49:45.309 things, holding onto them for, buying quality, 00:49:45.969 --> 00:49:47.869 repairing your things, holding onto them for 00:49:47.869 --> 00:49:51.909 longer. And also like learning a little on how 00:49:51.909 --> 00:49:54.070 to take care of your things too. Cause there's 00:49:54.070 --> 00:49:56.489 some things that you don't need to take. You 00:49:56.489 --> 00:49:58.750 know, like cleaning and conditioning your shoes. 00:49:59.510 --> 00:50:01.409 Like, you could do that at home if you want. 00:50:02.429 --> 00:50:07.989 Or bring it to your local cobbler. I mean, I 00:50:07.989 --> 00:50:10.550 repair all of my things, obviously. And it's 00:50:10.550 --> 00:50:14.269 easy for me because I have access. But the whole 00:50:14.269 --> 00:50:17.070 goal is to make it just really easy and delightful. 00:50:20.210 --> 00:50:35.780 Repair. Repair your stuff. And this is my like 00:50:35.780 --> 00:50:37.820 public service announcement. When you buy a new 00:50:37.820 --> 00:50:42.159 pair of shoes, immediately put, and they have 00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:46.119 like a leather sole, immediately put a protective 00:50:46.119 --> 00:50:50.199 sole on the bottom. And if you do that, your 00:50:50.199 --> 00:50:52.960 shoes will last forever. And then you won't need 00:50:52.960 --> 00:50:56.880 a resole. It's like an affordable way to like... 00:50:56.909 --> 00:50:59.230 keep your shoes in rotation for a long time because 00:50:59.230 --> 00:51:01.389 when you don't have the rubber sole and you just 00:51:01.389 --> 00:51:03.329 have the leather sole that's when you get like 00:51:03.329 --> 00:51:07.090 holes in the bottom of your soles and then you 00:51:07.090 --> 00:51:10.269 know a protective sole is like $50 to $75 but 00:51:10.269 --> 00:51:13.750 once you have a hole in your sole it's like $125 00:51:13.750 --> 00:51:15.670 repair because you have to rip off the whole 00:51:15.670 --> 00:51:23.980 sole and put a new leather sole on so PSA. That 00:51:23.980 --> 00:51:26.940 was Emily Watts, co -founder of Cobbler, an online 00:51:26.940 --> 00:51:29.739 operating system for repair. I loved her tips 00:51:29.739 --> 00:51:31.639 for extending the life of your leather -soled 00:51:31.639 --> 00:51:33.900 shoes. Yeah, I have some shoes in my closet. 00:51:34.099 --> 00:51:40.260 I'll definitely need to try that on. Thanks for 00:51:40.260 --> 00:51:43.280 joining us for episode 9 of the Circle Up podcast. 00:51:43.659 --> 00:51:46.420 And thanks to Holly Logan and the fixers at the 00:51:46.420 --> 00:51:49.079 Philly Fixers Guild. You can visit a repair fair 00:51:49.079 --> 00:51:51.599 the second Thursday of the month between 6 and 00:51:51.599 --> 00:51:54.599 8 p .m. at the Wheelhouse Building on North American 00:51:54.599 --> 00:51:57.920 Street. Find out more about their fairs, other 00:51:57.920 --> 00:52:00.280 repair resources, and even volunteer to be a 00:52:00.280 --> 00:52:03.760 fixer on their website phillyfixersguild .org. 00:52:05.840 --> 00:52:08.000 And thanks to Emily Watts who is bringing repair 00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:10.699 into the digital age with Cobbler. You can start 00:52:10.699 --> 00:52:14.000 your own repair at CobblerShop .com. That's C 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:19.500 -O -B -L -R shop dot com. Tune into our next 00:52:19.500 --> 00:52:22.079 episode to dive further into repair and refurbishment 00:52:22.079 --> 00:52:24.719 in the world of electronics and find out just 00:52:24.719 --> 00:52:27.199 what to do with that old computer monitor that's 00:52:27.199 --> 00:52:36.500 languishing in the back of your closet. The Circle 00:52:36.500 --> 00:52:39.340 Up podcast is presented by Circular Philadelphia. 00:52:39.610 --> 00:52:42.449 It was produced by Meredith Nutting at Cool Goon 00:52:42.449 --> 00:52:45.469 Productions. This podcast was supported by a 00:52:45.469 --> 00:52:47.929 grant from Penn Treaty Special Services District. 00:52:48.630 --> 00:52:50.349 If you want to learn more about the circular 00:52:50.349 --> 00:52:52.989 economy, go to circularphiladelphia .org.